Nekomichi - One Hundred Tales
by KooriAkuma
Summary: Like the silent shadow that trails behind it's owner. Having formed an unbreakable bond with the leader of the third division, Usagi is seen pacing the headquarters of the Shinsengumi during the late hours of the night, and, on rare occasions beside Saitou during patrols. A collection of tales of Usagi's everyday life while under the care of the Shinsengumi.
1. Chapter 1

There was a memory embedded deeply in the mind of the left-handed swordsman. A memory which had come to be nights before he had arrived at the capital and joined the Roshigumi, but which had been stirred after several months had passed and Chizuru had arrived at the Shinsengumi headquarters. It had revived in a dream, during a quiet night in which only the leaves swaying in the wind could be heard. His eyes had closed and almost instantly they had open to a scenery that wasn't the inside of his room.

He was walking down a deserted path that was heavily lined with trees and shrubbery. The moon shone above the trees brightly, having them form strange and twisted shadows down the path he walked, but it was nothing new. Saitou could see the path before him easily, could easily sense when there was someone ahead of him or behind, so he needn't worry about safety as he was a very capable swordsman. As he walked down the darkened road which would occasionally offer small strips of light, he came to a perfect place to sit and rest. Only for a minute or two, he thought to himself and made himself comfortable next to a large enough bush that would cover his form from any angle.

His eyes watched the moon above him as a slight breeze made the branches dance, the shrub beside him mimicking the motion, brushing some of its leaves on his cheek. The motion was expected as the wind picked up, but after the breeze had ended and the shrubbery was still trembling, it was a cause for alarm. He felt no presences whatsoever, no killer intent, no danger, but the shrub was moving as if someone or something were hiding in it. Could it be a poisonous animal? No. He would have sensed the danger and so that couldn't be what was hidden there.

Saitou reached forward, parting the shrub where the moonlight hit, but he still couldn't make out what was hidden. He saw a small, black cotton tail shaped an almost perfect sphere, attached to white hind legs whose body they belong to was obscured from view. He reached forward, his fingers gracing soft fur and making the legs twitch upward to hide behind the thicker leaves. The black cotton tail made a strange motion, a flicker or some kind of sideway swaying, but it was hard to tell. Saitou sought another way to see what was inside the shrubbery, thinking that is the creature had not run away then it had to be hurt. He moved further away from the road and knelt on one knee as he searched for the small creature.

It jumped from his sight the moment he reached for it, and again when he moved to a different side. Maybe it wasn't injured as much as he thought if it could jumped in such a way. Saitou would only see that little black tail and white legs diving into the darker parts of the shrub, yet it didn't run out of it. His thoughts on it being injured had not disappeared completely; he could be causing more damage by forcing it to use excess energy. Thinking this was the case, Saitou sat back down and ignored the urge to see if the small animal was safe and uninjured. He closed his eyes and was about to rest when he heard the rustling of leaves and from the corner of his eyes saw something come jumping out from the shadows.

Several hops it took towards a supposedly sleeping Saitou, although one eye was partially open and looking in the direction it came. It jumped onto his lap, its little tail twitching in a cute way, and stretched towards his face. He felt a small nose twitching against his own, the small paws resting on his chest so soft that he had to concentrate to feel their pressure on his body. It was larger than he had initially thought, but not by much, judging by the weight as he was yet to fully open his eyes. He felt he should let this curious little thing investigate and see that he was no threat before trying to help. Its nose touched his again, twitching like that of a rabbits, and he remembered the rounded tail. That's what this little creature was, a young rabbit, or so his thoughts had led him to believe.

" _Meow_."

Saitou's eyes snapped open and before him, looking into his eyes, was an animal he was not expecting to see. An odd-eyed cat with ears of a different color, its body mostly white with the exception of its mid-back and its black, cotton tail. It let out another meow, purring lovingly at him as it rubbed its head against his cheek. He didn't look hurt, which made Saitou think that the cat hiding was him showing interest in playing. The small fur-ball kept purring and snuggling into his neck until Saitou placed his hands under its front paws and lifted him into the air. There he saw his second mistake of the night; it wasn't a _him_ it was a _her_.

The memory of that playful cat was something so irrelevant during these times, but Saitou hadn't been able to get it out of his mind. His subconscious brought it to his attention almost every other night, the meowing and purring, of her vibrating against his chest, her small nose touching his as a small sign of affection. He guessed he missed those days she had traveled with him, had walked him to the capital and then disappeared when he no longer needed company. But he missed her. Missed her enough to dream about her and feel that small bundle on his chest, his nose against his own, and to see those odd-eyes, one silver-blue and the other light pink-red, looking at him with endearment.

But it hadn't been his subconscious after all, opening his eyes the next morning to see the small bundle sleeping soundly on top of his chest. He hadn't even felt her presence, which was something unbecoming of him. With a sigh and small smile, Saitou reached up to pat his old friend who looked at him with odd-eyes and meowed happily.

"Good morning, Usagi."


	2. Chapter 2

Because it seems that Saitou would be an easy person to tease just because he would react in very very cute ways XD

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Hakuouki, but I do own Usagi.

Please review, I would like to know what you all think of this story.

* * *

Usagi was a medium sized calico cat with a small black stub for a tail. Her steps weren't gallant or predatory, they had this curious quirk that made it look as if she were hopping or skipping, much like a rabbit moving through the green spring grass. Her eyes were a unique combination of silver-gray and pink-red and they had this way of moving slowly and studiously from one surface to the next, or from the face of one person to another. This was the case when Saitou would walk into a room behind Hijikata and Usagi just so happened to be in the room. Her eyes would take a second to look at Hijikata, seemingly bowing to him respectfully, before moving to greet Saitou with a loving 'meow'.

The bowing of Usagi to Hijikata, or sometimes Kondou, was first noted by Heisuke who was over enthusiastic with the image of a cat bowing its head in respect. He would lift Usagi into the air and race with her down the hall simply to show the other Shinsengumi how much like Saitou the feline was. She was the center of attention for the first week of her stay, being dragged (if Souji was bored) from one side of the compound to the other (where ever Hijitakata was) and being _asked_ to bow, because you couldn't give her an order. Usagi had a way of showing her discomfort when given an order and that was to strike in a blink of an eye and take off. As she was chased down to be disciplined for the attack, she would always be found curled up on Saitou's lap or standing beside him.

It was a unanimous decision, they would leave Usagi alone.

Souji, however, ignored whatever decision the others had taken and purposely picked on the bob-tailed cat to see what she would do. The two were often found arguing with one another, Usagi and Souji, a fact no one believed to be true until they saw it with their own eyes. Saitou had quickly picked up Usagi and taken her away from a chuckling Souji who believed the calico was in love with Saitou. When asked why he thought that, Souji responded that Usagi had told him, and that she kept arguing with him when he made it clear Saitou preferred swords. Because he did prefer swords, he would say loudly only to be responded with a loud meow from where ever Saitou was.

Usagi currently resided with the men of the Shinsengumi, in particular with Saitou who didn't seem to mind this new addition to his personal belongings. She made no mess and bothered him none during meditation or practice, solely perching herself on a window sill or pillow or a tree branch to take note of what he was doing. Her eyes would trail down his body in a very slow manner, her ears perked up with the smallest of sound he made, and she would acknowledge him with the sweetest sounding meow he had ever heard a cat produce. She was never far from him, always at the ready when he beckon for her, and always spread out on his futon during the night. She was a spending and well behaved feline, and Saitou welcomed her long stay with him.

Dinner, however, was a completely different matter entirely and Saitou was not sure how he should deal with the matter of feeding his precious companion. It wasn't a matter of not wanting to feed her what she wanted, it was a matter of putting priorities first. Meaning, he needed the small portion of meat that was given to him for strength during his patrols, but it was that fish that Usagi wanted ever so badly. Her large eyes would widen further than what they were already, her full attention would be on the fish and not to who it belong to, which made it impossible for Saitou to eat it if she was staring at it with such a fierce look.

Usagi was well mannered and would never take what wasn't hers, but it was difficult to ignore the poor thing sitting at the center of the room and simply looking crest fallen when all the Shinsengumi would finish their dinner and leave nothing for her. 'She's crying' Souji would speak up, and Usagi would let out a mournful mewl that made Saitou's chest tighten. She would stand and walk out of the room without looking back, refusing Saitou's invitation to his bedroom. This happened every time he had failed to give her a portion of his fish, but Souji had managed to sneak one to her minutes later and convince her to not bully Saitou.

Of course, Saitou had no idea of Usagi's way of teasing him, and although she really was crest fallen for not getting the fish, what she really liked was Saitou trying to coo at her so she would stop pouting in the tree top. It was simply out of character and awkward, but cute and heartwarming. She couldn't stay mad at him for more than a second, and having half a fish in her stomach (which was the only reason she got along with Souji) helped.

Usagi would come bouncing down the corridor and into his room, hopping slightly when she came to a stop before him to climb on his lap and stand on her hind legs. Her small paws rested on his chest as she brought her nose closer to his, something she had done from the very beginning and which Saitou had come to see as some sort of affection marker. It was how she would tell him everything is alright and that she would be there for him. He knew it was a strange thought that a cat would assure him of anything, but it felt that way to him, and especially when she would curl up with him under the covers, her heard resting on his should. Regardless of her being an animal, she was special to him and he wished to be able to keep her happy.

But the fish issue would have to be dealt with in some other ways. A way that kept Souji from feeding Usagi Hijikata's portion of the food.


	3. Chapter 3

His eyes were the color of the dark sea woken by the howling winds, the hue of the crashing waves against stone, and a serene as the calm before such an event. They were home to Usagi, looking into the eyes of her new master called her back to her younger years when her days were spent at the sea side, watching the rocking of the waves day after day and night after night. He held those silent, peaceful nights in a single glance, and Usagi couldn't get enough of the cozy feeling. She stood on her hind legs, paws digging into the kimono sleeve, her head leaned against him, her muzzle snuggling the neck of Saitou who very calmly meditated in the center of his room. To anyone who entered, it was a very strange image to see: an unmoving Saitou with a mewling cat at his throat.

* * *

The damn thing was at it again, Shinpachi thought. There was never a moment in which he could walk into a room during the night and not find Usagi sitting in the center, her head thrown back, staring at nothing in the corner roof. Her odd-colored eyes glowed a horrifying brilliant color with the streaming moonlight that came from the open door. They were round and large and absolutely black with a red and blue rim to them that slowly grew wider until consuming the entire eye. Her mouth opened to a black abyss, fangs as white as the pale moon, and a heart piercing meow that sent shiver through Shinpachi's entire body, which also serve to send him flying out of the room. Usagi tilted her head curiously, her eyes twitching back and forth for a second before directing her attention once more to the small hole located at the corner of the roof in hopes that the common piece of food would be hung from there would appear again like any other slow night for the Shinsengumi.

It was only seconds later that her ears picked up the shrilled voice of Shinpachi speaking to Saitou, of him announcing to her master his stupid cat was being weird again in the back room. She also picked up the unmistakable giggle of the man who gave her half a portion of fish during dinner. Somewhere behind the wall she was facing. The food portion appeared a second after Shinpachi's desperate attempt to have Saitou get rid of his demon cat that saw spirit failed, and before Usagi left in search Saitou and to hiss a devil's hiss at Shinpachi.

* * *

It was subtle. Barely noticeable to those who paid very close attention to the feline that made the Shinsengumi's headquarters its home. She was a very smart creature, but no one expected anything less of Saitou's companion. Hijikata had only noticed the change in the creature because it had decided to stay within his quarters when Saitou was out and she wasn't allowed to go. She would lay beside him, closest to the door, her head rested on her paws and her ears laid flat against her head as she slept. No amount of noise coming from the Shinsengumi could rile her from her sleep, but there were those silent alarms that would send her to her feet and towards the door. She would wait for Hijikata patiently at the door, her ears perked up and moving from side to side as if she heard something, something other than some random Shinsengumi men making a racket.

Once he opened the door, Usagi would bolt from the room and towards the entrance of headquarters. She would stay within the compound most of the times, but there were those rare instances that she would leave towards town and leave Hijikata wondering what had gotten into her. Often her strange behavior had to do with Saitou as he was present at the end of her run, jumping onto his shoulder as soon as she would see him. But there was still that mystery of where she went when she left the compound. Only a few of those escapes lead to Saitou, he had reported finding Usagi perched in front of him in a deserted road, but other time he would arrive looking for her only to find her gone. She could have mistaken his location, but Hijikata doubted it. The feline knew very well where each one of the Shinsengumi captains was patrolling, although he couldn't prove it, and knew Usagi didn't get lost. Side tracked, tempted into another house hold, but all in all, the cat would always end with Saitou before his arrival.

If she wasn't with him, if she wasn't in the compound, then she would have to have a destination she would disappear to. It was foolish of him to put any sort of thought in the actions of a simple cat, but Usagi just seemed too intelligent to him for her to act in ways without reason. Everything she did was due to some reason, to some logic of her own, and it was only during certain dates in the calendar. Saitou kept record of her disappearances, but also found nothing to explain her strange behavior or if it would affect them in any way. It wasn't easy to train a cat, but it wasn't impossible. They would simply have to keep watch of her.

* * *

He said the man was a wealthy merchant with a beautiful, kind, and gentle daughter whom everyone loved. He said this dear and beloved daughter of the wealthy merchant had a cat which was loved and pampered. He said the cat and the girls were inseparable, where the girl went the cat went, both slept together and so they were almost never apart. Like her and him, Saitou had said, stoking Usagi behind the ear. He said the father of the girl thought the cat evil, a sorcerer or monster there to take his precious daughter away from him and sought to rid himself of the cat. That night, however, the cat appeared to the merchant in his dream with a sorrowful expression. The cat explained his attachment to the girl, that he had been sent by a kami to protect her from a rat spirit in the man's store, but he wasn't strong enough and so he only stayed beside the girl. He told the merchant to go to his friend's house, ask them for their cat, and together they would hunt the rat.

Upon waking, the merchant lost no time in sending for the cat of his friend and the two cats went to the place the rat lived. The next morning, all three animals were found completely torn, so greatly that not one could stir. As the sound of the people approaching, the rat desperately tried to get away, but the cats fiercely clutched to his throat so she couldn't run away. Seeing the much larger rat, greater in size than the cats, the people quickly took a sharp knife, cut open the rat's neck, and threw its corpse in the river. The cats were free of the cat, but too weak to move, eventually dying from the wounds they had sustained. They were buried with full honors and a portrait was drawn to place in the shrine to commemorate their bravery and faithfulness.

At times when Usagi had trouble sleeping, or simply on a whim of her master, Saitou would often tell her tales he had heard to help her sleep. Tonight he had remembered a tale called the Cat Guardian, and although he didn't clearly remember the story, he tried his best to tell it to Usagi. Her large eyes sparking at him and those long ears taking each word he said, easily gave away that she indeed liked the tale. But she hadn't fallen asleep and was more awake then ever. Her constant meowing had caused some men in the compound to wake, one in particular screaming to shut that monster, ghost seeing cat, and another who leaned against the door frame with a grin.

"I don't think you should have told her that story, Hajime-kun," Souji said with a grin, Usagi hissing at him for cutting into her time with Saitou. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Indeed Saitou couldn't say anything about what happen two days after he had told Usagi the tale. She had appeared at dinner late, which was highly unusual for her, and had appeared with a large, gray object impaled on her fangs. It was Hijikata who yelled at her, the one that cause her to present her gift to Saitou before turning to bristle at the commander. Usagi had brought a very, very large gray rat into headquarters, into the room they had dinner, and placed in at the center of the room while facing Saitou. The other complained and scolded the feline, Souji laughing on the side and managing to distract them from the cat as Saitou quickly took her away.

Saitou couldn't scold Usagi for bringing that dead rodent after seeing those large round eyes filled with what he characterized pride and joy. Usagi probably thought she had done something great, something disserving of praise, but all she had gotten was disapproval and a band to be present at dinner. She didn't care, or didn't understand. Usagi only kept pushing the rat towards Saitou and sat patiently in front of him, but he was sure what she wanted. She kept that position for the longest of time, Saitou's heart breaking as that bright light in her eyes diminished, her hears dropping flat against her head, the sad almost dripping from her fur as she took the rat and left the room.

She had left, and he couldn't find her.


End file.
